There Were Always Three
by writergal32
Summary: Sherlock Holmes and John Watson are known throughout the newspapers and stories. They solve crime, fight evil, but they haven't done this alone. Caren Owens, a fiesty photographic woman with a taste for danger and a gift for detecting liars has always been apart of their story, but no one has ever known this...until now.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: (I do not own anything recognizable to BBC's Sherlock Holmes. All plots, characters and storylines recognizable from the tv show belong to them.)**

This story starts on Episode 2 of Season 1. (If you haven't seen the tv show then this may not make a lot of sense to you). Sherlock Holmes and John Watson have already met and are learning to be a team. Caren Owens will be the main character for this story, but in this chapter it mostly focuses on Sherlock and John so that Caren can be introduced into the story. After this chapter, Caren will most likely be the main character (i say most likely because you never know). Feel free to leave a review! Thanks!

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John Watson marched up the stairs and entered into the open door of his flat. Sherlock Holmes sat in his usual spot, the chair on the right, next to the fireplace, exactly where John had left him before he had gone out to get groceries. John looked around the flat, noticing a scratch on the door that hadn't been there before and some of the rugs on the ground were scrunched up a bit. Sherlock hardly glanced up from his book to look at John and said in a very monotone voice, "You took your time."

"Yeah, I didn't get the shopping," John replied, trying to hold back his annoyance as he continued to glance around the room. Sherlock looked up from his book disappointed, "What? Why not?"

"Because I had a row in the shop with a chip and pin machine," John announced loudly. Sherlock stared at him for a moment, "You...you had a row with a machine?"

"Sort of. It sat there and I shouted at it abusively. Have you got cash?" John explained quickly, still annoyed and slightly embarrassed he couldn't get the stupid thing to work. He didn't know why he bothered with those things when there were people at shops to do that sort of work for people like him.

"Take my card," Sherlock said with a smile, nodding over to the cluttered table in the kitchen where his wallet sat. John started towards the table then paused and huffed, "You could always go yourself you know. You've been sitting there all morning and not even moved since I left!"

Sherlock thought back on how he had just sword fought with an Arabian while John was gone, but decided not to mention it.

"What happened with that case you were offered? The Jaria diamond?" John shuffled through Sherlock's wallet, which was about as messy as the flat.

"Not interested," Sherlock snapped his book closed and saw a sword from the Arabian revealing itself from beneath his chair. He immediately shoved it back with his foot and looked around the room nonchalantly, tossing the book from one hand to the other to look as casual as possible, "I sent them a message."

John, non the wiser, sighed and leaned down to examine the table, seeing another scratch that had not been there earlier that day. He glared over at Sherlock who gave him a fake innocent look, then left the room to go have another row with the store.

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"Don't worry about me, I can manage," John huffed, struggling to bring in all the groceries up the stairs. Sherlock hardly even glanced in John's direction, deeply in thought. He stared at the email in front of him from an old 'friend' back in college, asking him to come visit. He, along with others now-a-days, had heard that Sherlock was now a consulting detective and was asking him to come look at an 'incident' whatever that meant. Sherlock wasn't quite in the mood to be friendly...on the other hand it was a new case, and he hated to turn down any.

"Is that my computer?" John's voice brought him out of his thoughts. He immediately began typing a response to the email and responded, "Of course."

"What?" John's voice sounded upset, but he always sounded upset to Sherlock.

"Mine was in the bedroom," Sherlock replied, typing his confirmation that he would come and examine whatever it was his ole 'buddy' needed. John scoffed, "What and you couldn't be bothered to get up?" he paused for a moment, "It's password protected."

"In matter of speaking. It took me less than a minute to guess yours. Not exactly Fort Knox." Sherlock explained matter-of-factly. John hated when he did that. Annoyed he grabbed the laptop away from him, "Thank you." Sherlock seemed hardly affected by this, merely placing his hands in front of his lips like he always did when he was thinking intently about something.

John rested down in his own usual spot, the chair across from Sherlock's, and picked up the mail resting on the side table. Each one was a bill. John sighed and shook his head, "I need to get a job."

"Oh, dull." Sherlock replied, looking off into the distance.

John tapped his fingers against the chair, debating whether he should interrupt Sherlock's thinking or not. He finally leaned forward, "Listen, um...if you'd be able to lend me some..." he paused. Sherlock continued staring off into the distance, possibly not even listening to a word he was saying. "Sherlock, are you listening?"

Sherlock nodded slightly and replied, "I need to go to the bank." He stood abruptly and grabbed his coat, leaving John confused. John immediately grabbed his coat and followed.

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John looked around the building in confusion. Sherlock said they were going to a bank but instead they ended up at a large Shad Sanderson building, people booking flights and going off to who knows where.

"Yes, when you said we were going to the bank..." John finally asked as Sherlock headed for an escalator. He wasn't actually going to fly somewhere to go to the bank was he? Sherlock practically jumped off the escalator and headed straight for the main counter. A woman smiled warmly at the two of them. Before she could say a word Sherlock stopped her and said, "Sherlock Holmes." She nodded her head understandingly and immediately stood up, leading the two of them off down a hall to a large business room. They waited their only for a moment before a man walked in with a big cocky smile on his face, "Sherlock Holmes." He stuck out his hand and Sherlock received it, without smiling back, "Sebastian."

"How are you buddy? How long has it been? 8 years since I last clapped eyes on ya?" he turned and looked John up and down curiously. Without taking his eyes off of Sebastian, Sherlock said, "This is my friend, John Watson."

Sebastian's smile widened, "Friend?"

"Colleague." John corrected him, shaking his hand.

Sebastian chuckled, "Right." He itched his neck and looked at the too of them then turned to his desk, "Grab a seat. You need anything? Coffee? Water?"

Sherlock shook his head slightly and sat down, staring intently at Sebastian.

Sebastian waved away his secretary and sat down, and opened his mouth widely. Sherlock spoke before him, "So you're doing well. You been abroad a lot?"

Sebastian clicked his tongue and shrugged, "Well, some." Sherlock continued, "Flying all the way around the world twice in a month?" John squinted his eyes and glanced over at Sherlock, unsure of how he knew that. Sebastian laughed loudly, "Right. You're doing that thing. Yeah, we were at uni together. This guy here had a trick he used to do."

"It's not a trick," Sherlock stated unamused. Sebastian ignored him and continued, "He could look and you and tell you your whole life story."

John nodded, "Yes, I've seen him do it."

Sebastian smiled, "Put the wind up everybody. We hated him. He'd come down to breakfast in the formal hall and this freak would know you'd been at it the previous night."

"I simply observed," Sherlock defended himself in his typical mono toned voice. You could tell this man was already on his nerves.

"Go on then, enlighten me. Two trips in a month, flying all the way around the world, you're quite right. How could you tell? You gonna tell me there was a stain on my tie some special kind of ketchup you can only buy in Manhattan?" Sebastian waited eagerly, ready to make fun of him some more. Sherlock merely raised an eyebrow and responded, "No,"

"Maybe it was the mud on my shoes," Sebastian mocked. John smiled and glanced at Sherlock. His face was completely serious and he stared down the man, "I was just chatting with your secretary outside. She told me." John raised an eyebrow. Sherlock hadn't spoken with his secretary at all. Sebastian's face fell in disappointment that his game of teasing had come to an abrupt end, then laughed loudly. Sherlock faked a small smile back.

"You know I'm glad you could make it over. We've had a break in," he suddenly said, getting down to business. He stood and led the two down a few halls. They stopped in front of an office, "Sir Williams office. Banks former chairman. The room has been left here, sort of like a memorial. Someone broke in late last night.

"What did they steal?" John asked. Sebastian turned to him, "Nothing. They just left a little message." He scanned his card and led the two through to a room where a large painting hung up on the wall. Graffiti upon it was gold spray can paint, two symbols of some sort. Sebastian stared at Sherlock expectantly, who was staring at the painting, a twinge of confusion barely visible on his face.

"60 seconds apart." Sebastian showed them the security footage of the room. One moment the paint wasn't there, and then suddenly it was, without a trace of the accuser.

"So," Sebastian said, "Someone came up here in the middle of the night, splashed paint around, then left within a minute.'

"How many ways into that office," Sherlock asked abruptly.

"Well, that's where this gets really interesting." Sebastian led the two men back to the front desk and opened up a computer, "Every door that gets opened in this bank, it gets logged here. Every walk-in cupboard, every toilet."

"That door didn't open last night." Sherlock thought aloud.

"There's a hole in our security. Find it and we'll pay you. 5 figures," Sebastian reached inside his pocket and pulled out a check, "This is in advance, tell me how he got in and there's a bigger one on its way." He practically waves the check in front of Sherlock face. Sherlock doesn't even flinch, "I don't need an incentive, Sebastian." John's eyes widened. He's not gonna take the money.

Sherlock walked away, leaving John and Sebastian standing there, slightly shocked. John decided to immediately jump on this opportunity, "He's uh...He's kidding you obviously. Shall I look after that for him?" Sebastian handed him the check without another thought. The price on the check made John sigh aloud. If Sherlock was not going to accept this money then he definitely would.

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Sherlock spent a long time examining the room and the office, much to the surprise of the other employees there. He finally found what he needed and motioned for John to follow him out.

"Two trips around the world this month. You didn't ask his secretary you said that just to irritate him," John said immediately. Sherlock smiled proudly. "How did you know?"

"Did you see his watch?"

"His watch?"

"The time is right but the date is wrong. Set two days ago. Crossed the dateline twice, but he didn't alter it."

"Within a month? How did you get that part?"

"New brightening," Sherlock responded, hopping off the escalator.

"Okay...So do you think we should sniff around here for a bit longer?" John gazed around the room. The building was big. It would take them a while to find anything.

"I've got everything I need to know already thanks." Sherlock's response shocked John, "Hm?"

"The graffiti was a message. Someone at the bank, working on the trading floors. We find the intended recipient and..." he paused, letting John finish.

"They'll lead us to the person that sent it."

"Obviously."

"Well, there's three hundred people up there, who was it meant for?"

Sherlock responded immediately, "Pillars."

John scrunched his nose, "What?"

"The pillars and the screens. Very few places you could see that graffiti from, that narrows the field down considerably. And of course the message was left at 11:34 last night, that tells us a lot."

John feeling very confused as usual asked, "Does it?"

"Traders come in to work at all hours, some trade with Hong Kong in the middle of the night. That message was intended for someone that came in at midnight. Not many Van Coon's in the phonebook. Taxi!" John shook his head. Sherlock never ceased to impress him.

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Edward Van Coon didn't seem to be home so Sherlock tricked a neighbor into letting him in, and use her balcony of all things. He leapt over the balcony onto Edward Van Coon's and tried the door, which opened immediately. Sherlock scanned the room, noticing a big pile of books on a table. He opened up the fridge, which was stoked with several bottles of wine. Suddenly the doorbell buzzed continuously. John.

"Sherlock," John called, but he ignored him, "Sherlock you okay?" Again Sherlock ignored his calls, searching each room carefully, but quickly.

"Yeah, any time you feel like letting me in!" John called annoyed. Sherlock tried the bedroom door. It was locked. Knowing something wasn't right about that, Sherlock instanty thrust himself at the door, breaking it down immediately. He walked in and found Edward Van Coon lying on his bed with a bullet in his head and a gun in his right hand.

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It didn't take long before the police showed up along with a team of men to take pictures and clean up. Sherlock stared at the body as a man took a photo.

"Do you think he lost a lot of money? Suicide is pretty common among city boys," John asked, folding his arms and shaking his head at the dead body. Sherlock shook his own head and turned away, "We don't know it was suicide."

"Come on. The door was locked from the inside, you had to climb down the balcony."

Sherlock ignored him and dug through a suitcase laying on the ground in the closet, "Been away...three days judging by the laundry."

John rolled his eyes. Sherlock stood and stated defensively, "Look at the case, there was something packed tight inside it."

"Thanks I'll take your word for it," John replied, glancing at the dirty clothes then back at the men taking pictures.

"Problem?" Sherlock was confused as to why John wouldn't want to see for himself, learn the facts.

"Yeah, I'm not desparate to root around some bloke's dirty underwear," John responded, and Sherlock stared at him disappointed before walking around to examine the body again, "Those symbols at the bank. The graffiti, why were they put there?"

"Some sort of code?"

"Obviously. Why would they painted. If they wanted to communicate why not use email?"

"Well maybe he wasn't answering."

"Oh good you follow," Sherlock said relieved, digging through the man's coat pockets. John shook his head, "Mmmm, nope."

Sherlock sighed, "What kind of a message would anyone try to avoid?" John shrugged his shoulders, still very confused.

"What about this morning? Those letters you were looking at."

"Bills," John replied. This still wasn't making any sense to him. He watched in disgust as Sherlock pulled a small piece of black paper, folded into the shape of what seemed to be a flower out of the dead man's mouth.

"Yes. It appears he was being threatened," Sherlock stared at the black piece of paper, then stuck it into an evidence bag.

A voice interrupted the two and they turned to see a man walk in, chatting with a cop.

"Ah, Sargent, we've never met," Sherlock went to shake his hand but the man put his hands on his hips, "Yeah I know who you are and I'd prefer it if you didn't tamper with any of the evidence."

Sherlock, visibly a little surprised, lowered his hand and gave the man the bag with the black flower in it. The Sargent snatched it away.

"I phoned Lestrade, is he on his way?" Sherlock asked, not removing his focus from the sargent.

"He's busy," the man snapped, "I'm in charge. And it's not Sargent...it's detective inspector Dimmock." Sherlock stared at him in shock and gave John a look. Dimmock left the room, Sherlock immediately following.

"We're obviously looking at a suicide," Dimmock stated as he entered the living room.

"Yeah that does seem the only explanation of all the facts," John agreed, glancing at Sherlock.

"Wrong," Sherlock responded immediately, "It's one possible explanation of some of the facts. You've got a solution that you like, but you're choosing to ignore anything you see that doesn't comply with it." Dimmock gave him a surprised look, "Like?"

"The wound is on the right side of his head."

"And?" Dimmock asked, raising his eyebrows, rather annoyed.

"Van Coon was left-handed. Cause quite a bit of contortion," Sherlock said, demonstrating the awkward motion.

"Left-handed?" Dimmock asked, wanting proof.

"Oh I'm amazed you didn't notice. All you have to do is look around this flat. Coffee table on the left-hand side, coffee mug handle pointing to the left, power strips are used a bit more on the left. Pen and paper on the left-hand side of the phone, because he picked it up with his right hand and took down messages with his left. You want me to go on?"

"No, I think you've covered it," John interrupted.

"Oh I might as well, I'm almost at the bottom of the list. There's a knife on the bread board with butter on the right side of the blade because he used it with his left. It's highly unlikely that a left-handed man would shoot himself in the right side of his head. Conclusion: someone broke in here and murdered him. Only explanation of all the facts."

"But the gun..." Dimmock started but Sherlock cut him off, "He was waiting for the killer," he paused. Everyone stared at him, "He'd been threatened." He quickly turned and walked away.

"What?" Dimmock asked, purely shocked.

"Down at the bank. Sort of a warning." John explained.

"He fired a shot when his attacker came in," Sherlock said, putting on his coat and scarf.

"And the bullet?" Dimmock couldn't believe anything of what he was hearing.

"Went through the open window."

"Oh come on," Dimmock scoffed, "What are the chances of that?"

"When can you get the ballistics report? The lead in his brain wasn't fired from his gun, I guarantee it."

"But if his door was locked from the inside," Dommick argued, "how did the killer get in?"

Sherlock raised his eyebrows, "Good. You're finally asking the right questions."

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Detective Inspector Dimmock didn't believe it was murder until another man was found dead in his flat. Sherlock was furious, but secretly thrilled at being right. John and Sherlock had gone to the library and found yet another symbol/threat. Sherlock was convinced the two were connected he just wasn't sure how.

He headed to the hospital to take a look at some samples from Van Coon's clothes and the dead journalist. He immediately made his way to go to the back room, where Molly typically let him in, but this time there was a different woman there. She was a slender woman with blonde, medium length hair, eyes down, studying something in a folder. She immediately looked up when Sherlock and John walked in. She raised an eyebrow as they immediately headed towards the door.

"Uh, hold on a second, do you have an I.D.?" she asked, stepping in front of the two of them. Sherlock stared her down, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"An I.D.?" he asked impatiently.

"Yeah. No one goes back there without one," she replied, crossing her arms.

"No, I don't need an I.D. because..." Sherlock started but she cut him off.

"No I.D., no going in. Sorry. Tough luck boys."

"But I'm Sherlock Holmes," Sherlock shoved his hands in his pocket impatiently. The woman raised an eyebrow, "And I'm Caren Owens. Now that we've made introductions, scram."

"Look, I'm a consulting detective in the middle of a case, with several men on my back to get me answers so let me in," Sherlock growled.

"I'm John Watson if anyone's interested." John remarked, but the two ignored him completely.

"Am I supposed to be impressed. I'm just following orders okay? If you don't have an I.D. I can't let you..." she started, irritation clear in her voice.

"We're friends with Molly Hooper," John said. Caren raised an eyebrow, "Molly Hooper huh?"

"Yes, Molly Hooper. Where is she? She's usually here to let us in. Why are you here?" Sherlock spun in a circle, searching the room for Molly, but she was no where to be seen.

"She said she needed to check something and asked me to wait here till she got back," Caren replied, eyeing Sherlock skeptically.

"You don't typically work on this floor do you?" Sherlock said suddenly, taking Caren aback.

"No...I'm a nurse in training upstairs. I wasn't doing anything at the moment and Molly asked me to come down and watch things for her while she was out. How did you..."

"I observed. Now let us in before..." Sherlock started towards the door but Caren jumped in front of him again.

"Do we have a problem here?" a voice from behind asked.

"Finally," Sherlock cried before turning to face Molly, "Where have you been. This insufferable woman is wasting my time."

"He was trying to get in without an I.D.," Caren defended, glaring at him.

"Oh haha, Caren...this is Sherlock Holmes," Molly laughed nervously. Caren shrugged, "Is that supposed to mean something?"

"He's the one..."Molly paused and leaned toward her and whispered, "The I told you about." Caren's eyes widened, "Him? Really? Oh you've got to be joking."

"Can I go in now or are we going to sit around discussing useless things?" Sherlock interrupted.

"Sherlock," John protested but Molly interrupted him, "Oh, no it's fine. Yes, come on in Sherlock." She rushed to the door and pulled on the handle, but the door didn't budge.

"Oh, Caren has the key to unlock...Caren would you mind?" Molly's face turned red and Caren sighed, "Alright."

Sherlock stared suspiciously and Caren explained, "I was holding onto them for her just in case something happened." She pulled out a ring of keys and slowly, as if to torture Sherlock more, opened the door. She mockingly motioned for the three to enter. Sherlock was immediately taking a seat at one of the microscopes and barking orders at Molly, which she instantly began to do.

"Is he always like this?" Caren asked John as the two of them watched Molly and Sherlock work.

"Pretty much, yeah," John replied before walking over to take a seat next to Sherlock.

"There has to be some connection between the two men. If we can find anything, a bit of dirt, some oil, a chemical, that's similar it will help," Sherlock explained to Molly.

"We need more help if we are going to be looking for all that stuff Sherlock," Molly said, grabbing another microscope. She turned to Caren, "Can you help us?"

"No, not her, she's busy." Sherlock responded immediately.

"How do you know that?" Caren questioned, crossing her arms.

"The file you were studying. It's full of paperwork, you obviously have things to do."

"Actually I've got plenty of time. I'd looooove to help," Caren gave Sherlock a challenging look before sitting down by a microscope and looking inside. Silence loomed in the room as Sherlock worked, setting down samples and typing away at the computer. A 'bling' sounded off near Caren's microscope.

"Soooo, what exactly am I looking for?" Caren thumbed her fingers against the microscope and glanced at Sherlock. He raised an eyebrow at her, "Why don't you tell me?"

Caren mimicked the eyebrow raise and peered into the microscope, "It looks like dirt, but not dirt from around here. It has traces of something else." She peered closer at the microscope, "There are definitely traces of bleach on this, but it looks like different chemicals."

"Mind if I check?" Sherlock stood behind her.

"Be my guest."

Sherlock peered in for only a moment before pulling his head back, "Bleach. Definitely."

"Like I said." Caren said, but Sherlock ignored her. He grabbed the next sample and set it under the microscope and took a look.

"So...what are you searching for?" Caren pushed again, watching the detective as he worked.

"Oh don't play dumb with me, I haven't got the time. You know perfectly well what we're doing," Sherlock responded, not even taking his eyes away from his project.

"I'm just a nurse in training, I couldn't..." Caren started but Sherlock cut her off, "Oh that couldn't be all that you are. You are far too obvious."

Caren glanced over at John, but he merely shrugged. She brushed some hair out of her face, "I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about."

"Photographic memory," Sherlock's almost groaned. Caren's face lit up in surprise. Suddenly his eyes widened and he jumped up, "The same bleach! They both have the same bleach."

"Mind if I check?" Caren mimicked. Sherlock was slightly taken aback but motioned her forward. Caren glanced in then nodded, "Same kind."

"Like I said," this time Sherlock mimicked. Caren's lip twitched slightly, as if she was trying to hold in a smile.

"How did you know?" she finally asked.

"Oh well it was quite obvious. As entertaining as this charade has been, nobody would believe you're a nurse in training," Sherlock swung back over and grabbed two new samples.

"Are my acting skills so poor?" Caren asked defensively.

"I wasn't referring to your acting skills."

Caren's face scrunched up, and looked to John and Molly, who were just as confused as she.

"Then to what were you referring?"

Sherlock looked up at the three and sighed, "Let's start from the top then. Your brow is marked with intelligence, your gaze is direct, your features are delicate, yet your hands are callused and rough, your voice is refined and confident, yet you take everything as a challenge, possibly reflecting on a bad childhood? Had to defend yourself a lot, take care of yourself for the most part most likely. You reflect education yet you claim your a nurse in training. You had a set of keys to this room when Molly forgot hers, like she does every so often, and you aren't a usual to the floor, meaning you probably work higher up, possibly in something for secretive. When you entered the room, you scanned every inch of it quickly, searching for anything missing or out of place, common habit of someone with photographic memory though I haven't met many and prefer my mind palace. You were able to analyze the bleach almost instantly, again marking your intelligence in science. The folder you were holding outside was thick and you clutch it tightly, meaning it was probably confidential, even now you keep it close to you and glance at it every so often. My best guess is you're either a security guard, although you seem too fragile for that, or researcher, or scientist of some sort."

Sherlock paused for a moment to look into the microscope, "The two samples also seem to have the same type of rustic paint. But the paint is specific. Looks like something ancient, used in China years ago," he turned to Caren, "Want to check?"

Caren stared at him, half-shocked and half-impressed. She shook her head, "No...I believe you." Sherlock smiled proudly, "Finally. Now, John we've got work to do!"

Before Caren was sure what was happening the two men were out the door and down the hall. Caren turned to Molly, who was beaming proudly, "Yeah...he's always like that."

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Author's Note: Thanks so much for taking the time to read this terribly written chapter! Let me know what you think!


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: (I do not own anything recognizable to BBC's Sherlock Holmes. All plots, characters and storylines recognizable from the tv show belong to them.)**

Here's the next chapter! Thanks so much for taking the time to read it! Feel free to leave reviews!

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Caren stared at the sculptures in the cases at the National Antiquities Museum in awe. She had seen them a million times, yet she had never ceased to be amazed at the beauty. She stared at the pots, one of them shining brightly, as it had probably recently been cleaned through the ceremony performed by one of the workers, Soo Lin Yao. Caren had missed the ceremony every time she had come, and this time she had come early, determined to watch it.

"Can I help you ma'am?" a man's voice spoke behind her. Caren turned, coming face to face with a young man, in his late 20's most likely, with curly brown hair, and a plaid vest over a shirt. He looked a little nervous, probably just about being around a woman. His nametag read 'Andy'. Caren smiled, "Oh, I was just waiting for the pot ceremony to begin." She motioned her head toward the case with the small pots.

Andy's face fell as he looked to where she had motioned, "I'm afraid it won't be done today...or ever again. I'm sorry"

"What? Why not?" Caren asked in shock. From what she had gathered, the pots needed to be taken care of every day or they'd crack. They couldn't just stop.

Andy bit his bottom lip, "We've had to cancel it."

"But..." before Caren could question further a voice called out, "Andy. There's a man here to see you."

Both Caren and Andy turned to see none other than Sherlock Holmes and his colleague, John Watson standing there. The two of them looked just as surprised to see her as she was to see them.

"You?" John uttered. Caren smiled, "Me. What are you doing here? Don't you have samples to test?"

"That was yesterday, obviously," Sherlock retorted, "Shouldn't you be learning how to be a nurse?"

"Had the day off."

Sherlock shook his head slightly and focused his attention on Andy, "Andy Galbraith? Sherlock Holmes. We have a few questions to ask you about your friend Soo Lin Yao."

Andy's face paled, "Yeah...yeah of course. How can I help you?"

Sherlock immediately began circling around the room, examining all the artwork, "When was the last time that you saw her?"

"Wait she's missing?" Caren asked shocked. That would explain the reason for the cancellation of the ceremony, but the pots in the case looked like they had recently been cleaned.

Sherlock rolled his eyes, "What are you still doing here?"

"Just a curious outside party," Caren shrugged innocently. John smiled. Annoyed, Sherlock turned his attention back to the antiques, "Last time you saw her?"

"Three days ago...here at the museum. This morning they told me that she'd resigned. Just like that. Left her work unfinished." Andy recalled with a saddened look in his eye. It appeared he had developed a little crush on Soo Lin.

Sherlock turned from the antiques he had been studying, "What was the last thing she did on her final afternoon?"

"Um, well, she probably went and cleaned out her space. I could probably show you," Andy said, looking back at the woman who had led Sherlock and John over. She was speaking with a couple of men. By the looks of it, Caren guessed she was probably the museum director.

"Excellent. Lead the way." Sherlock said motioning the man forward. Andy hesitated then turned and began to lead them to a door reading 'Employees Only'. Caren looked around then quickly followed them. If she wasn't going to be able to see the ceremony she was at least going to see what was going on back there.

"So what is it you need to know about Soo Lin?" Caren asked, catching up to John. He raised his eyebrows in surprise at seeing her, "Oh, well, it's for the case."

"Yes I assumed so." Caren said with a small laugh, "But what does she have to do with bleach and Chinese paint? Oh...wait let me guess. She works on antiques. There was ancient paint in the samples so you were going to ask her about it?"

"Well, that's actually not why were here but they do relate to each other..."John paused, as if starting to connect the dots.

"Feeling a little slow today John?" Sherlock called turning to look at John. He frowned when he saw Caren, "What are you doing?"

"Lending my assistance, obviously," Caren said, emphasizing the last word.

"Oh joy," Sherlock rolled his eyes slightly, "What could you possibly bring to the situation."

"An outside opinion?"

Sherlock turned from Caren and caught up with Andy just as he opened another door that entered into a big space and turned on the light. He didn't have the energy to fight with this woman, and his throat still hurt a little from being strangled by that man in Soo Lin's flat, but that didn't mean she would get the last word. He _always_ got the last word.

"She does this demonstration for the tourists," he paused and looked back at Caren, "And locals I guess...is she...?"

"Ignore her." Sherlock groaned and motioned him to continue. Andy looked confused but continued, "Right. She does a tea ceremony. So she would have packed up her things and just put them in here." Andy pointed to a big line of doors. One of them was still partly open. Andy looked back at the three, then began to turn a handle to open it completely.

Sherlock seemed distracted by something else, and began to walk towards a statue. It had golden spray paint all over it, looking like the ancient Chinese numeral system. When John saw it he exhaled slowly. Caren raised an eyebrow. This was clearly important. She recognized the symbols as a 15 and a 1. She only knew this because she had wandered into a shop called the Lucky Cat once and saw it on a price tag. The old lady there had convinced her to buy a nice tea cup from there, even though she had hardly used it since. She had been interested in the numbering and had looked up the rest of the numbers, intrigued by the way they worked together. She loved history and this ancient language that was rarely used anymore was intriguing to her.

"That's like the other one, " John called to Sherlock. He nodded.

"Thank you very much for your help Andy. We'll be leaving now," Sherlock spun on his heels and headed back out the way they came. Andy gaped at the two, "But you didn't..."

"We saw everything we needed." Sherlock called back.

"Thank you!" John added. Caren looked back and forth between Andy and the two walking away.

"Well...I'm just going to leave too. Thanks," she waved good bye quickly before rushing to catch up to them. The two walked fast, they were almost out of the building by the time she caught up to them.

"Hey! What was that? Why were there Chinese numbers on that statue in there?" Sherlock glanced at her, "You recognize the numbers?"

"Yeah, sure. I saw them once when I was..." Caren started, but Sherlock interrupted her, turning to John, "We have to get to Soo Lin Yao."

"If she's still alive," John replied.

Caren was about to question them on this, but knew they wouldn't give her any clear answers.

"Sherlock!" a voice called out. The three turned to see a young man running towards them. He looked very rough, with dirt smeered across his cheeks and was wearing very worn clothes.

John sighed, "Ugh, look who it is."

"I found something you'll like," the man said the moment he reached them. He glanced suspiciously at Caren.

"Excellent." Sherlock said cheerfully. The man nodded his head towards Caren.

"Ah yes...well it's been a pleasure seeing you again but we have to go now. Good Bye." Sherlock said without even really glancing at Caren. He motion the young man forward and the young man smirked at John and Caren before leading the way.

John glared him then turned to Caren.

"Sorry," he mumbled before rushing to catch up with the two, leaving Caren alone on the front steps.

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(The next day)

Caren sat at her desk, writing down the dates her boss had thrust at her to record before rushing back into the emergency room as a woman screamed. Her contractions were getting closer together. She was so close to getting off work after being there from early morning to late afternoon and the only thing she had been doing for the past hour was listen to the woman's cries, so she was grateful for a little work. A figure stepped up to the desk.

"Hi, give me just a moment to write this down and I'll be right with you," Caren said in her most professional voice without looking up.

"A receptionist. You're a receptionist. With all the skills and abilities you seem to have, how could you be a receptionist?" the voice said, clicking his tongue in disappointment. Caren smiled slightly and looked at Sherlock, "Disappointed?"

"A little. But I suppose it makes sense now. Sad childhood, dark past, you want a job that's simple. Your typically on this floor, which would explain why I've never seen you before. And with a photographic memory it would be easy to remember everything that needed to be recorded. I was right about the photographic memory wasn't I?" He said, sounding far too confident for Caren's liking. Despite this she sighed and nodded her head. "In all my time at this job not one person has figured that out."

"Yes, I tend to surprise people in that way." Sherlock said. The sentence sounded rather cocky but his voice merely stated a fact. He glanced up at the emergency door as the woman cried out again.

"First child?"

"Yup. Requested no medication, but if she keeps screaming like that I'll stick a needle in her myself." Sherlock's lip twitched into a small smile at her comment.

"So, I'm guessing you're not here to support Margaret with her labor, so what are you doing here?" Sherlock nodded, then pulled a piece of paper out of his coat pocket, "Yesterday you said you recognized the Chinese numerals on the statue. Do you recognize any of these?" He placed a picture on her desk. The picture was of a brick wall, with the Chinese numeral symbols covering it in golden spray paint.

"So now you want my outside opinion?" Caren teased. Sherlock rolled his eyes, "I'm merely trying to solve this case as quickly as possible."

"Uh huh," Caren smirked then glanced at the picture.

"Do you recognize them?"

"A little. They all represent numbers, obviously, and they're all in pairs, but I don't understand what it means. It looks like some type of code. Where did you find this?"

"Near the train tracks. It's a coded message, meant for someone coming into London, but what does it mean?" Sherlock explained. Caren shrugged, "I don't know. But I can decipher the numbers for you if you'd like."

Sherlock checked the time then nodded, "Decipher away."

"Well, I didn't mean right now but..."

"I need it now if convenient."

"I have a lot of work to do..." Caren lied. She was rather intrigued by all of this and it would only take a few of minutes to write it all down, but she didn't want to seem like she was willingly getting off task. "But I suppose I could whip it up for you."

Sherlock nodded and sat down in one of the waiting chairs, flipping out his phone and sending a quick text. Caren studied the picture again and began to write out the numbers. 112, 103, 75, 36...

Another scream from the woman.

Caren worked quickly, finishing it in a matter of minutes. She waved the paper up when she was finished and Sherlock immediately jumped up, snatching the paper.

"I don't know what all the numbers mean, but there they are. How are you going to figure it out?"

Sherlock looked at the numbers, "We can't crack this without Soo Lin Yao. We need to find her."

"We?" Caren asked.

Sherlock looked up, "Yes, me and John..." he paused and turned, as if just realizing that John wasn't with him.

"I don't suppose you're going to tell me when you've figured it out?" Caren hinted. She really wanted to know how this whole thing turned out. Sherlock shrugged, "Probably not. But, you didn't really have any work to do and it would seem your shift is over about now."

"How'd you know?" Caren asked, trying not to sound too impressed.

"When I came in your body was shifted towards the clock and your foot was tapping. You were antsy about something and I doubt it was about Margaret's delivery. Your purse is close at hand, ready to grab so you can leave at any moment. Need I continue?"

Caren shook her head and glanced at the clock. Her shift was finally over. She stood to gather her things then looked up, and saw Sherlock heading out the door without so much as a thank you or goodbye.

"Are you going back to the museum?" she called out. Sherlock paused, "Why would you say that?"

"Because that's the last place anyone saw Soo Lin Yao."

Sherlock shrugged, "Perhaps."

"Well then if you won't tell me how it turns out I will just have to go to the museum myself and figure it out."

Sherlock raised an eyebrow, "Good day Ms. Owens." He turned and headed out the door.

"Catch you later," Caren called out before quickly cleaning up her things and rushing out, headed straight for the National Antiquities Museum.

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John was surprised to see Caren Owens at the museum, but even more surprised to see that Sherlock wasn't. He merely nodded in her direction when they saw her and headed straight for Andy, questioning him again on Soo Lin Yao. Andy was hesitant, but continued to claim he had no idea where Soo Lin was.

"Two men who traveled back from China were murdered, and their killer left them messages in Hangzhu numerals." Sherlock explained roughly.

"Soo Lin Yao is in danger," John jumped in, "Now that cipher, it was just the same pattern as the others. He means to kill her as well."

Andy ran his hands through his hair, "Look, I've tried everywhere. Friends, collegaues. I don't know where she's gone, I mean she could be a thousand miles away."

He was telling the truth, that much Caren knew. She had always had a knack for knowing if someone was lying or not, and Andy wasn't. She glanced at Sherlock, who was staring at the display case where the teapots were resting. Curious as to why he was staring, she looked at them too. Everything seemed normal. Two teapots shown brightly, with the rest underneath them...Caren looked again. Two teapots. She thought back to the other day when she was looking around. There had definitely only been one shining tea pot. Now there were two. And the arrangement was slightly different. They had recently been touched.

John noticed the two of them staring, "What are you looking at?"

Sherlock immediately jumped into action, "Tell me more about those tea pots."

"The pots were her obsession." Andy said.

"They needed her work every day. If they dry out then the clay can start to crumble," Caren finished. Andy nodded, "Apparently you have to just keep making tea in them.

"Yesterday only one of those pots was shining. Now there are two." Sherlock said, inspecting them.

"So that means..." John started, but faded off.

"She didn't leave the country. She's here." Caren finished. Sherlock nodded, "We need to stake out here tonight and wait for her to emerge."

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Sherlock mentioned to Caren that she didn't have to stay, not saying quite that kindly, but giving her the gist, but she refused to leave, using the excuse that she had come this far and wasn't going to be shooed away. Sherlock hadn't fought her on that which was strange to John, but he didn't say anything about it. He didn't mind Caren, and it was nice to have someone else who rolled their eyes when Sherlock was being too cocky.

Soo Lin appeared at midnight. She creeped out of the venting system and grabbed the pots, just as Sherlock had guessed. The three waited till she started the process before sneaking up on her. Sherlock went first, making his way right beside her, "Fancy a biscuit with that..."

Soo Lin gasped and dropped the pot. Sherlock barely caught it in time. He looked up at her, "Centuries old. Don't break that." He slowly stood from his crouch from catching the pot and handed it to her. She still looked absolutely shocked. At this point John flicked on the light switch, brightening up the place. Sherlock smiled, "Hello."

Caren and John made their way out and everyone sat down to discuss the code. Soo Lin sighed, "You saw the cipher? Then you know he is coming for me."

"You've been clever to avoid him so far." Sherlock said. Soo Lin dropped her gaze to the floor, "I had to finish. To finish this work. It's only a matter of time...I know he will find me."

"Who is he? Have you met him before?" Caren's voice quietly echoed through the room as she spoke. Soo Lin nodded, face scrunched up as if she were trying to remember a distant and painful memory, "When I was a little girl, with him back in China. I recognize his...signature."

"The cipher," Sherlock clarified. Soo Lin nodded, "Only he would do this. Zhi Zhu."

"Zhi Zhu?" John asked.

"The spider," Sherlock answered. Soo Lin lifted up her foot and began to untie her shoe. John glanced at Caren with a raised eyebrow. She shrugged and continued to watched Soo Lin closely. She pulled off her shoe to reveal a bare foot, with a black tattoo on the heel, shaped like a flower inside a circle.

"You know this mark?" Soo Lin's voice shook slightly as she spoke.

"Yes," Sherlock replied solemnly, "it's the mark on a tong."

"Hm?" John turned to Sherlock for an explanation, but Caren spoke before he could, "An ancient crime syndicate based in China." Sherlock nodded. Soo Lin looked down at the ground again in shame, "Every foot solider bears this mark. Everyone who holds for them."

"Holds?" John asked. Soo Lin didn't answer, just looked up at him. His face lit with understanding, "You mean you were a smuggler?" Soo Lin sadly looked down and replaced her shoe. The three watched patiently.

"I was 15. My parents were dead. I had no livelihood, no way of surviving day to day, except to work for the bosses."

"Who are they?" Sherlock pried.

"They are called 'The Black Lotus'." Soo Lin revealed. Sherlock looked at her sadly, as if this personally affected him. Soo Lin continued, "By the time I was 16...I was taking thousands of pounds worth of drugs across the border into Hong Kong," she paused, remembering her past sorrowfully, "but I managed to leave that life behind me. I came to England. They gave me a job here," she smiled sadly, "Everything was good. A new life."

"But he came looking for you," Caren said sadly. Soo Lin turned her gaze to her, "Yes," she gulped, holding back tears, "I had hoped after five years, maybe they would have forgotten me, but they never really let you leave. A small community like ours...they are never very far away." She wiped away tears from her face, "He came to my flat. He asked me to help him to track down something that was stolen."

"And you have no idea what it was?" John asked. Soo Lin shook her head, "I refused to help."

"So you knew him well, when you were living back in China?" John questioned. Soo Lin swallowed hard and nodded, "Oh yes. He's my brother."

Realization dawned on everyone's face and the room fell silent. Soo Lin wiped more tears away, "Two orphans. We had no choice. We could work for the Black Lotus, or starve on the streets like beggars. My brother has become their puppet, in the power of the one they call Shan, Black Lotus general. I turned my brother away. He said I had betrayed him. The next day I came to work, and the cipher was waiting."

More silence. Finally Sherlock stood slowly and pulled the picture of the symbols and several other pictures out of his pocket and placed it before Soo Lin, "Can you decipher these?"

Soo Lin studied the pictures, "These are numbers here," she pointed to one of the pictures.

"Yes I know," Sherlock said patiently.

"Here, the line across the man's eyes, it's a Chinese number one," she pointed out.

"And this one is 15, but what's the code?" Sherlock asked quietly but a little forcefully. Soo Lin looked up at him, "All the smugglers know it. It's based upon a book..." She turned as if to grab something but suddenly the lights shut down. Everyone froze in the darkness. Sherlock immediately stood up straight. Caren looked around the room in shock. She could sense the tensity and possible danger and wondered if she had made a mistake in coming along.

"He's here," Soo Lin whispered, "Zhi Zhu. He has found me." She squeezed her eyes closed in fear. Sherlock suddenly took off running towards the door.

"No, no Sherlock wait!" John called out after him then turned and grabbed Soo Lin's arm, "Come here. Get in," he turned to Caren, "Get in!" he motioned them over to the vent. Caren rushed over and was bending in when there was a gun shot.

"Sherlock," she whispered to John. He shook his head, "No get in. Get in."

"We have to go after him," Caren said yanking her arm out of his grip and rushing over to the door. She grabbed an object off the table that looked like a brick of sort on the way out. John gaped for a moment then turned to Soo Lin, "Bolt the door after me." He followed Caren out into the museum.

More gun shots sounded as they ran out, echoing from all over. Caren hid behind a pillar and John rushed next to her.

"What do you think you're going to do?" John hissed grabbing her arm and trying to lead her back to the room with Soo Lin. Another gun shot and the sound of grunting and scuttling. Caren turned to John, "Give him another target."

She pushed John away from her and leapt out, "HEY!"

A man in black appeared on the upper level and immediately fixed his gun at Caren. She leapt behind an artifact case, the bullets barely missing her.

"Hey!" Sherlock's voice called out from around the corner. Zhi Zhu turned attention to him, shot a couple more shots at Caren's hiding spot then ran after Sherlock. Caren immediately emerged from her hiding spot and ran after them. John's shook his head in disbelief. What did she think she was doing? He ran after her, pulling his own gun out.

Caren rushed from hiding spot to hiding spot, following the sound of the gun shots, and gripping the strange brick thing in her hand. Taking a deep breath and wondering what kind of adrenaline was causing her to do this, rushed to the stairs and bolted up them. She hid behind another pillar and waited for the sound of gun shots.

Suddenly, a little ways ahead, Zhi Zhu appeared. Reacting quickly, Caren chucked the brick at him, which he was clearly surprised about but easily dodged. He lifted his gun up, but a hand yanked Caren out of the way, and practically dragged her down the hall.

Sherlock rounded a corner and shoved Caren against the wall, peeking around the to see where Zhi Zhu was.

"Are you mad?" he hissed, pulling his head back.

"Probably." Caren panted. Another gun shot shattered a case near them.

"Careful! Some of those skulls are over 200,000 years old! Have a bit of respect!" Caren shouted causing Sherlock gave her a puzzled look. The gun shots stopped and they waited in silence for a moment.

"Thank you." She called out.

Sherlock held his finger to his lips, face splattered with concern. He peeked his head around the corner again, "He's gone," he whispered.

They stood in silence for a moment, then started back down the stairs, where they met up with John. Suddenly there was a gun shot.

"Oh no." John groaned before taking off running back to the room where Soo Lin had been left. John got to the room first, then Sherlock, then Caren. She skidded to a stop when she saw Soo Lin's dead body sprawled across the table, with a paper black lotus in her hand.

"No." Caren whispered, stepping towards the dead body. John held out an arm, stopping her from approaching. She shook her head and dropped down to her knees, guilt flooding through her. If she hadn't run off maybe they could have done something to protect Soo Lin. "No."

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	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: (I do not own anything recognizable to BBC's Sherlock Holmes. All plots, characters and storylines recognizable from the tv show belong to them.)**

Hey thanks to all the new followers and favorites and reviews! Here's the next chapter!

* * *

Sherlock and John had suggested that Caren take the next day of work off but she refused. She had a hard time sleeping with the few hours she had left till her shift started, but at least her job would give her time busy her mind with other things, but she couldn't help but think about Soo Lin Yao, the museum and everything she had learned. The day seemed to drag on, patients coming in and out with the same problems, unaware of everything happening right under their noses.

Caren glanced around at the room. At the moment there was only a couple of people sitting in the waiting room.

Black Lotus. Soo Lin. Antiques.

Black Lotus. Chinese Code. Zhi Zhu.

Black Lotus. Soo Lin dead. You're fault.

"I don't suppose you've thought at all about last night?" a voice interrupted Caren's thoughts. She glanced up and looked Sherlock in the eyes, "I don't suppose you could come at a time when I wasn't working?"

"Of course, all of this is so...important, but I do have a favor to ask you." Sherlock replied, glancing around at the waiting room.

"Oh yeah? Well, I do hope this doesn't become a regular thing Sherlock," Caren looked around at the room. One of her co-workers sat at a desk, several feet away from her, scribbling away, looking busy, but Caren knew she was writing love letters to Daniel Parkers from Molly's floor.

"So...what do you need?" Caren asked. Sherlock swiftly pulled a ripped, crumpled, piece of paper out of his pocket. On the paper was the name of a Chinese circus, The Yellow Dragon Circus, only in town for one night. There was a number at the bottom.

"A _Chinese_ circus in town for only one night. It has to be the Black Lotus. There's no other explanation, "Sherlock lowered his voice as he nodded to the paper.

"Right. So...what is it you want me to do about it?" Caren raised a confused eyebrow. Sherlock suddenly looked slightly uncomfortable. He suddenly began to speak extremely fast, "John's going out with some woman tonight and he's taking her to this and we need to go to investigate but knowing John he'll only be focused on his date. He also doesn't know that it's connected to the Black Lotus, didn't catch on apparently. I can't be seen following around a couple."

He paused and stared at Caren, waiting. She blinked a couple of times then smirked, "Sherlock Holmes are you asking me on a date?"

"Fake date." Sherlock interrupted.

"Well you're obviously lacking in this area of expertise. I hardly pieced together what you were saying," she teased.

Sherlock rolled his eyes, "Are you coming or not?"

"Why me?"

"You're the only woman I know." Sherlock muttered.

"On the contrary Mr. Holmes. What about our mutual friend Molly?" Caren asked. Sherlock gave her a look that said it all. Caren's mouth formed an 'o', "Don't want to give her the wrong impression?"

"She's not as informed about this case. She'd ask too many questions, and she'd be far to nervous," Sherlock stated bluntly. Caren nodded her head. He wasn't lying but he wasn't admitting everything. She decided not to mention that.

"Well? Are you coming or not?" Sherlock asked.

"What time?"

"7:07."

"7:07? What, got plans at 7:05 or something?"

"We don't want to get there before John," Sherlock replied.

"7:07 it is then." Caren laughed. Sherlock nodded, spun around and quickly walked out of the building. Caren smiled and shook her head.

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"It's been years since anyone took me to the circus," Sarah said as John and her walked. John chuckled, "Haha yeah right. It was a uh, a friend recommended it to me. He phoned up."

"Oh, what are they? Two and company or something?" Sarah asked. John shook his head, "I don't know that much about it."

"Oh," Sarah looked up at the building. There were serveral Chinese lanterns hung up above the front doors and walkway. She smiled, "I think they're probably from China." She and John laughed, "Yes, I think so, yes. That is a coincidence."

They entered the building, which was decorated in what looked like ancient chinese decorations. The walls were decorated with flower patterns and there were red rugs covering the floors. Chinese lanterns were hung up in the hallways.

The two made their way to the front desk where a man waited.

"Hi, I have two tickets reserved for tonight." John said. The man nodded, "And what's the name?"

"Uh, Holmes," John answered, pulling out his wallet. The man nodded and turned, picking up a list of names. He cocked his head to the side, "Actually I have four in that name."

John furrowed his eyebrows, "No I don't think so. We only booked two."

"Then I thought it was such a pleasant idea that I phoned back and got two for us as well," Sherlock's voice came from behind John. He sighed and turned around, but was surprised to see Caren standing there with him. Sherlock walked up to Sarah and stuck out his hand, "I'm Sherlock. This is Caren."

Sarah let out a confused, yet amused laugh and shook the outstretched hand, "Uh, hi."

"Hello." Sherlock said again before turning and walking down the hall towards where the acts were being held. Caren gave John and Sarah an amused smile before turning herself and following him.

John stared in shock for a moment. First, Sherlock was ruining his date. Second, _Sherlock_ was on a date...with Caren. How did this girl keep showing up. He didn't mind Caren mind you, but he was still confused and surprised. Third, Sherlock was making him pay for the tickets. He gave an embarrassed smile to Sarah and quickly paid.

Sarah had to go to the bathroom before they started so Caren went off with her and Sherlock and John waited. John turned angrily to Sherlock, "You couldn't let me have just one night off?"

"A dragon circus. In London for one day. It fits! The tong sent an assassin to England. " Sherlock snapped back. John rolled his eyes, "Dressed as a tightrope walker? Come on Sherlock, behave!"

"We're looking for a killer who can climb. Who can shin up a rope. Where else would you find that level of dexterity?" Sherlock replied, almost disappointed that John didn't see the importance of this, "Exit Visa's are scarce in China. They needed a pretty good reason to get out of the country. Now all I need to do is have a quick look around the place."

"Alright you do that, I'm going to take Sarah for a pint." John began to head down the stairs.

"I need your help," Sherlock said. John spun on his heels, "Isn't that why Caren's here?"

"Don't be ridiculous. Sure she has an eye for things, but I thought she would be a good distraction for Sarah so you and I could look around." Sherlock confessed. John shook his head, "You brought her on a date to hang out with _my_ date so you could go chase ridiculous theories?!"

"Don't overreact John, she knows it's not real."

"Every woman takes anything that might slightly look like a date as a date Sherlock. Good luck with that one. I have a couple of other things on my mind this evening."

Sherlock scoffed, "Like what?" John was taken aback.

"You are kidding," John asked.

"What's so important?" Sherlock demanded. John was surprised that Sherlock actually didn't know. The man could tell what kind of pet a stranger had but didn't know what he was talking about.

"Sherlock, I'm right in the middle of a date, and technically now, so are you. You wanna chase some killer when I'm trying to..." he paused.

"What?" Sherlock asked, still clueless. John was done dancing around the subject, "When I'm trying to get off with Sarah!" He immediately regretted saying that when Sarah and Caren suddenly appeared by his side. He looked at her, his cheeks turning red, "Heeeyyy..."

Sarah played dumb, and smiled at the two men and Caren tried to hold back a smile. She gave John a look and he embarrassingly asked, "Ready?"

"Yeah." Sarah said happily. He grabbed Sarah's arm, leading her up the stairs to the entertainment.

The room was rather elegant, although the lighting was dimmed, and there was a huge circle of candles in the middle where the performers were. The whole thing was rather creepy to Caren, but she didn't say anything. Sherlock wasn't even paying attention to anything that was going on. He was looking around at the room, his head thrown back so far Caren was sure he was going to fall backwards.

"You said circus. This is _not_ a circus - look at the size of this crowd," John hissed to Sherlock, "Sherlock this is...odd."

Sherlock took his eyes off of the ceiling and shrugged, "This is not their day job."

"You can say that again," Caren whispered, trying not to make a face at the odd group of people in the act and in the crowd.

"No sorry I forgot, they're not a circus they're a gang of international smugglers," John snapped back. A drum interrupted the two's argument, turning everyone's attention to a woman, dressed from head to toe in Chinese ceremonial type clothing and make up plastered all over her face. Sherlock and John shared a look before continuing to watch.

The woman raised her hand, silencing the drummer. Another drum began to play, this one with a deeper tune. The woman glided across the floor till she was standing before a large object hidden under a sheet. She gracefully flipped the sheet off to reveal a large crossbow. John took a glance at Sarah, who's attention was fixed on the woman and the bow.

The woman silently grabbed a decorated arrow from a nearby sheath and showed it to the crowd. She carefully placed it in the large crossbow and then reached up and grabbed a feather from her headdress, showing it to the audience before placing it on a scale attached to the bow. The second it touch the scale the arrow shot out of the arrow and embedded into a wooden board across the other side of the circle, causing everyone but Sherlock to gasp.

A man in a mask came out and allowed himself to be chained to the wooden board.

"Classic Chinese escapology," Sherlock whispered to Caren. Caren gave him an impressed look so he continued, "Crossbows on the delicate string, the warrior has to escape his bonds before it fires.

The woman placed a new arrow in the bow and the warrior was locked up. The drum beat got more intense then suddenly a gong sounded. Sarah jumped and took the opportunity to grab John's arm, laughing in surprise. Caren smirked. Clever move. Sherlock looked almost confused by this act, but John seemed very pleased.

The woman pulled out a dagger. Sherlock leaned over to Caren again, "She splits the sandbag, the sand pours out..."

"And gradually the weight lowers into the bowl," Caren finished, noticing the ball weight hanging above the scale. Sherlock nodded, slightly disappointed he didn't to finish the sentence.

Everyone watched tensely as the woman cut the bag and the warrior began to try to break out. Suddenly Sherlock turned and walked away towards a door in the corner of the room. Caren looked back at John, who was focused on the circus, and Sarah, and decided to follow him. She already knew what was going to happen with the circus act, but she didn't know what Sherlock was doing.

Sherlock turned when she caught up to him, "Oh I thought you were John."

"Disappointed yet again?" Caren asked. Sherlock shrugged, "Don't get in the way."

The two entered a door that led to what appeared to be the dressing room. They could hear the crowd clapping down below. They began to look around, and Caren noticed a mannequin with a Chinese costume and mask on it.

The woman's voice echoed through room, that was only separated from the dressing room on one wall by a curtain, and she introduced 'The deadly Chinese Bird-Spider'. Sherlock's head whipped to the curtain. He motioned Caren over and opened up the curtain slightly, revealing the man, swinging through the air on aerial silks.

"Well, well," Sherlock whispered.

"The Spider," Caren whispered back.

Suddenly the door opened up and Sherlock and Caren leapt behind a rack of clothing. Someone walked into the room and came close to the racks. Sherlock peered over the top to get a look, accidentally moving it slightly, making a noise. He quickly darted back down. The two stayed completely still until the sound of the door open an closed again. Caren looked down at her feet and noticed a dufflebag, filled with what looked like spray cans. Sherlock followed her gaze and dug one of them out. He smiled, recognizing it immediately, "Found you."

He got to his feet and practically ran over to the mirror at the dressing table. Caren stood up too and immediately froze, sensing something was different. Her eyes darted around the room. A cell phone was gone, but everything else was there, the mannequin, the mask, the shoes...her eyes shot down to the shoes attacked to a pair of legs that had not been there before.

Sherlock sprayed the paint across the mirror unaware.

"Sherlock!" Caren hissed, just as the mannequin turned its body to Sherlock and leapt at him, swinging a sword violently. Sherlock leapt backwards, continually dodging the man's swings. Caren snatched the actual mannequin, now maskless, and swung it at the attacker. He must of sensed it because he ducked without even looking at her, then swung the sword in her direction. She blocked it with the mannequin, stumbling backwards, brushing against the curtains.

Sherlock smacked the attacker with the spray can in his hands, and when the man turned to him, he sprayed him in the eyes. The masked man fell down, gasping, and Caren kicked him in the side. He rolled away from the two and flipped himself back up, kicking a leg at Sherlock. It nailed him right in the chest and Sherlock flew straight through the curtains, landing in the middle of the circle of candles on his back. Caren kicked the attacker in the back and he fell through the curtains too, flipping through the air so he landed on his feet.

Everyone gasped at the sight and John immediately ran over to stop the masked man from attacking Sherlock, but he shoved John to the ground easily. 'The Deadly Chinese Bird-Spider' pulled off his mask, made eye contact with Caren, then rushed out of the room. She too jumped through the curtains and grabbed a heavy metal stick type thing off the ground from a future act that wouldn't be presented now and swung it at the masked man who was standing over Sherlock, sword raised. She smacked him over the head, then his shoulders, and he cried out in pain, toppling over. He reached up to grab her leg but she hit him square in the face, knocking him out.

Sherlock yanked his shoe off, revealing the same tattoo that Soo Lin Yao had shown Sherlock, John, and Caren the previous night. He threw the shoe on the ground and jumped up, grabbing Caren's arm with one hand and John's with the other, who had Sarah clinging to _his_ other arm, and ran out of the building.

The group ran two blocks before Sarah begged them for breath. Sherlock released his hold and bent over, placing his hands on his knees, panting. John made sure Sarah was alright before standing beside Sherlock, "One night event. Should've known," he panted. Sherlock shrugged and slowly stood upright.

"I think we need to chat with Inspector Dimmock."

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"I sent a couple of cars. The old hall is totally deserted," Inspector Dimmock spat angrily as he marched through the office, Sherlock, John, Caren and Sarah following after him.

"Look I saw the mark at the circus. That tattoo that we saw on the two bodies. The mark of the tong!" Sherlock replied, his voice on sounding intense.

"Lucas and Van Coon were part of the, their smuggling operation. Now, one of them stole something there in China. Something valuable." John said calmly.

Sherlock jumped in, "These circus performers are gang members, sent here to it back."

"Get what back?" Dimmock questioned. Sherlock pursed his lips and looked away. John sighed, "We don't know."

"You don't know?" Dimmock's irritation was rising. John and Sherlock both looked away, seeming almost disappointed in themselves for not knowing. Caren glanced at Sarah, who was looking more bewildered and confused than ever. Poor girl. All she wanted was a date.

"Mr. Holmes," Dimmock's voice was almost shook with anger and irritation, "I've done everything you've asked. Lestrade, he seems to think your advice is worth something. I gave the order for a raid. Please tell me I'll have something to show for it. Other than a massive bill for overtime." He stared the two down. The two men said nothing.

Caren looked around at the office while Sherlock and John stood in silence, having nothing left to say. She looked over everything, noticing random books at other cops desks, bills and warrants, sticky notes on computers for reminders. She glanced at Dimmock's desk. It had papers spread across it, which seemed out of the ordinary for a guy like him. He was stressed about this case. She looked back up at him. He seemed younger, younger than the cops she had seen around so she guessed he was probably recently promoted to Inspector, and this was his first real break.

"We'll figure it out," Sherlock's voice broke her out of her thoughts. He turned briskly on his heels and headed for the door. The others followed. Dimmock shook his head, "I should hope so."

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They ended up going back to Sherlock and John's place, 221B Baker Street. The room was cramped and full of boxes of books. The kitchen had lab equipment scattered all across it and the main desk had papers all over it. The wall above the fireplace was covered in pictures of the Chinese numerals and the code on the brick wall.

"They'll be back in China by tomorrow," John said as they walked in. Sarah came in behind him and took a look around, confusion still plastered across her face.

"No, they'd never leave without getting what they came for," Sherlock disagreed, taking off his coat and tossing it on one of the stacked boxes of books, "We need to find a hideout, a rendezvous. Someone where in this message, it must tell us." Sherlock pointed at the pictures.

Sarah glanced at Caren, then John, then Sherlock, then back to John, "Well I think perhaps I should leave you to it." John turned to her, trying not to show the panic at the thought of her leaving.

"No, no, no, no, no, you don't have to go, of course you can stay," John said while Sherlock replied, "Yes it would probably be best if you leave now." John turned and gave Sherlock a look before turning back to Sarah, "He's kidding. Please stay if you'd like."

Sarah smiled awkwardly, wiggling her earring with one hand. She turned to Caren, "I suppose if Caren is staying then perhaps I'll..." John shot Caren a pleading look. She nodded, "Oh...yes, um, I think I will stay. You should stay too. Don't want to be the only girl around here if you know what I mean." She nodded her head towards all the boxes. Sarah laughed and nodded her head, "Alright. Well is it just me or is anyone else starving?"

Sherlock groaned and mumbled to himself quietly. John quickly nodded, "Yeah let me just see what we've got in the kitchen." He practically ran to the fridge and opened it. Sarah took off her coat and placed it on the armchair closest to the kitchen before looking around. Caren monuvered her way over to the pictures. Sherlock glanced over at her but said nothing, continuing to look at the pictures. He pulled some of them down and moved over to the desk, shuffling through them and examining them closer.

Caren noticed John looking a little panicked as he searched throughout the kitchen. No food in the fridge apparently.

"So, this is what you do, you and John. You solve puzzles for a living?" Sarah asked as she looked at the pictures on the wall and the cluttered books. Sherlock made an annoyed face, his back turned to Sarah so she couldn't see it, "Consulting Detective," he said defensively. Sarah looked at Caren and made a face, "Oh." Caren smiled and raised her eyebrows, shrugging her shoulders.

She moved over to the desk and looked at the pictures over Sherlock's shoulder. Sarah followed her lead, causing Sherlock to tense up, not because he was uncomfortable but because he was annoyed. Sarah pointed at the picture, "What are these squiggles?" Sherlock looked like he was about to hit something, and Caren turned away, hiding a laugh.

"They're numbers," Sherlock finally responded, "an Ancient Chinese dialect."

"Oh, yeah well I, of course I should have known that," Sarah teased. Sherlock did not seemed amused. Caren turned to see how John was doing to see him desparety trying to put some crackers on a plate. An old woman suddenly appeared at the door with a tray full of food, which John gratefully accepted. Caren turned her attention back to the pictures, noticing a bag with another copy of the brick wall picture. There was her handwriting on it from when she had deciphered the numbers, and there was other writing underneath it.

She grabbed the bag to inspect it more closely, causing Sherlock to shoot her an annoyed look. Sarah leaned over to look at it too, "So these numbers, it's a cipher?"

"Exactly," Caren and Sherlock responded at the same time, although Sherlock didn't sound quite as nice as she did.

"And each pair of numbers is a word," Caren said as she read the writing underneath hers. Sherlock froze and looked up at her, "How did you know that?"

Caren gave him a confused look, "Well, two words have already been translated. Didn't you...?" She leaned over and showed him. He took the bag from her and stared at the paper, "John."

"Yeah?" he called from the kitchen, still putting finishing touches on the tray. He stopped what he was doing at the look on Caren's face and walked over.

"John look at this," Sherlock called, pulling the paper out of the bag, "Soo Lin at the museum, she started to translate the code for us. We didn't see it."

"Nine mill," Caren read.

"That mean millions?" John asked, leaning over to get a better look at the picture. Sarah just stared at the three of them, surprised that Caren seemed to know what was going on too.

"Nine million quid, for what?" Sherlock asked himself, staring off. He folded up the piece of paper, "We need to know the end of this sentence."

"Where are you going?" John asked.

"To the museum, to the restoration room," he groaned, "Oh we must have been staring right at it!"

"At what?" Caren asked.

"The book Caren! The book! The key to cracking the cipher. Soo Lin used it to do this. While we were running around the gallery, she started to translate the code. It must be on her desk." He turned and rushed out the door. Caren thought back to the night, Soo Lin sprawled across the table, laying on the pictures and a book...Caren almost laughed, not because it was funny, but because she realized what was happening and turned to John, "You mean to tell me you were looking through all these books to find the cipher?"

John stared at her, unsure of why she was laughing, "Yes, Lucas and Van Coon both had to have the same book..."

"John," Caren laughed, "I know what book it was! I have a bloody great memory!" She shook her head and bolted out the door to tell Sherlock before he went all the way to the museum for a book she knew he already had.

She got out of the building just in time to see Sherlock chasing after a couple.

"Sherlock!" she called out following him. He turned his head slightly as he ran, shouting over his shoulder, "I know what book it is."

"Yeah? So do I," she called back. He skidded to a stop and whipped around, "What?"

"London A to Z," Caren shouted as Sherlock briskly walked back, his face all scrunched up.

"You knew the whole time and you didn't say anything?!"

"I wasn't in on the loop," Caren replied. Sherlock pursed his lips then quickly turned and snatched a copy of the book out of a couple's hands. The man argued in a different language, to which Sherlock replied something back. The man looked frustrated but walked away.

"Sorry!" Caren called out to him. The man just threw his hand up angrily.

"Page 15, entry one. Page 15..." Sherlock mumbled while flipping the pages in the book.

"Entry one," Caren finished. Sherlock ignored her. He held up the book at page 15 and read the first word aloud, "Deadman."

"So those symbols _were_ a threat to kill them?" Caren asked.

Sherlock nodded, "The first cipher." He pulled out the picture of the brick wall and the two of them began to decipher the rest of the symbols, Sherlock flipping pages, Caren writing them down.

"Nine mill for jade pin. Dragon den, Black Tremway," Caren read as they finished. Sherlock reread the message then stuffed the picture in his pocket.

"Let's get John," he said before rushing back to the building. Sherlock practically trampled the old woman as he ran up the stairs, shouting back, "Sorry Mrs. Hudson!"

She mumbled to herself but said nothing else. Caren gave her an awkward smile before rushing up the stairs.

"John! John? We've got it. The cipher! The book!" Sherlock shouted as he rushed into the room. Caren froze when she entered the room, staring at the window. Sherlock was still talking, searching for John, "It's the London A to Z that you..." Sherlock cut himself off when he saw Caren's face. He turned to the window and took a step back in shock. The Deadman symbol was spray-painted in gold.

"How did they?" Caren started looking around. On the table was the tray Mrs. Hudson had brought up, empty. There were some newspapers scattered on the ground that hadn't been there before.

"They've got John," Sherlock mumbled. Caren nodded, "And Sarah."

He groaned and ran his fingers through his hair, then rushed over to his bookshelf, "Tremway, Tremway," he muttered. He pulled out a map from the mass of books and quickly opened it up.

"There," Caren jabbed at the location.

"We need to go. Now." Sherlock crumpled the map back up and ran out the door, Caren following behind him.

Sherlock practically leapt in front of a taxi, causing it to screech to a stop. He barked directions at the man as he slid in. Caren paused for a moment.

"What are you waiting for?" Sherlock demanded, "Are you coming or not?"

"Coming. Definitely coming," Caren said, sliding in.

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They ended up at an underground tunnel connecting to the sewers a few minutes later. Sherlock held his fingers to his lips as they crept up to the entrance, voices faintly echoing out of the tunnel.

"You've seen the act before. How dull for you. You know how it ends," a woman's voice said. Caren recognized it as the woman from the circus. They peeked around the wall. There, John was tied up to a chair, sitting across from Sarah, who was also tied up to a chair, with the crossbow from the circus act pointed right at her. A short asian woman stood nearby with two men.

"I'M NOT SHERLOCK HOLMES!" John shouted. The woman shook her head, "I do not believe you."

Sherlock motioned for Caren to split up, going to the other side. She quickly rolled over and crept towards the group, staying in the shadows.

"You should you know," Sherlock called out, standing in plain sight. The woman froze at his voice and whipped around.

"Sherlock Holmes is nothing at all like him," he said. The woman cocked her gun, causing Sherlock to leap into the shadows, "How would you describe me John? Resourceful? Dynamic? Enigmatic?"

Caren crept another inch closer.

"That's a semi-automatic," Sherlock said, referring to the woman's gun, "You fire it, the bullet will travel over a thousand meters per second."

Caren moved closer. She noticed one of the two men walking towards where Sherlock was.

"Well?" the woman asked. Sherlock leapt out and smacked the man in the head with a pipe, "Well," he jumped back into the darkness, "The radius curvater of these walls is nearly four meters. If you the bullet will ricochet. It could hit anyone. Might even bounce off the tunnel and hit you."

The weight was getting closer to the balance. Caren rolled out of her spot and kicked over one of the cans that had a fire in it, lighting the tunnel. A look of panic splashed over the woman's face as she didn't know where to point her gun anymore. She dropped her arm and ran.

Sherlock appeared behind Sarah and began to untie her, but suddenly Zhi Zhu appeared behind him and began to strangle him with the silks he had used in his flying act. Caren picked up the pipe that Sherlock had used earlier and swung it at the man. With incredibly fast reflexes, Zhi Zhu released Sherlock and caught the pipe in his hands. He yanked it out of Caren's and swung it at her. She leapt out of the way, but he got her in the side, causing her to collapse to the ground, out of breath. Zhi Zhu began to fight Sherlock again.

As Sherlock fought the man, John struggled to get out of his chair. Caren looked at the weight. It was almost at the balance. She groaned in pain as she struggled to her feet towards the crossbow, determined to knock it over before it shot. Time seemed to slow down as they all struggled. Suddenly, it was too late. The weight hit the balance and it shot...but instead of hitting Sarah it hit Zhi Zhu square in the chest. He gasped and sank to his knees.

Sherlock unraveled himself from the silk as Caren untied Sarah, who was panting hard.

"You're okay, you're okay. It's all going to be alright now." Caren whispered as she untied her, although she was rather in shock herself. First being shot at in a museum and then fighting at a circus, and now all of this. Sarah began crying as Caren took the gag out of her mouth and started untying her hands. Sherlock helped John off of his chair. John looked absolutely crushed at seeing Sarah like this.

"Don't worry," he finally said, "next date won't be like this."

Sarah, still sobbing, just stared at him.

Sherlock helped John to his feet then looked out at where the woman had run away. They were so close to catching her. So close.

"That was Shan i presume," Sherlock asked. Sarah began to shake again and let out a loud cry. John crawled over to her and hugged her, nodding in response to Sherlock's question. Sherlock turned to Caren, "Um, you aren't going to..."he nodded towards the two on the ground. She gave him a tired laugh, "No I don't think so."

Sherlock nodded and whipped out his phone to call the police.

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The police showed up ten minutes later and searched the entire area. Shan was no where to be found. Each of them had to give a statement to the police, then John took Sarah home. Sherlock lingered behind to chat with Inspector Dimmock. Caren felt rather exhausted and bruised, so she decided to slip off. She asked one of the policemen to tell Sherlock she had left, this hadn't been an actual date after all so she didn't have to feel bad about leaving, besides she knew he'd understand, and began to walk back to her flat.

To add to the wonder of the night, not a single taxi would stop for her and she walked back. She probably looked like a mess anyway so she didn't blame them. The night was breezy, but it felt nice after everything. She moaned a little as she walked, her stomach aching from where Zhi Zhu had hit her. That was gonna be sore in the morning.

Caren suddenly became aware of a car driving rather slowly near the sidewalk, a few feet behind her. She glanced back at it and made eye contact with the driver. She casually turned back around, but her alarms were going off in her head. Were these men with Shan? Was this case not over?

The car pulled up beside her and the backseat window rolled down. A woman popped her head out, "Caren Owens?"

Caren nodded. The lady looked down at her phone then back up at her, "Need a lift?"

"I'm fine thanks," Caren replied politely and tried to walk off.

"It wasn't actually a question," the girl said with a smile. She opened the door and patted the seat next to her, "Hop in." Not wanting to cause a scene, Caren slowly stepped into the car. The woman smiled, "Don't worry. We aren't here to hurt you."

She wasn't lying, Caren could tell that much, which was relieving, but she was still confused as to where they were going.

"Sorry, who are you?" she asked finally as the driver took off down the street. The woman pulled out her phone and ignored her. Caren leaned over to the driver, "Where are we going?"

Silence.

She leaned back and buckled her seat belt, knowing there was nothing to do but wait. A few minutes later they pulled up in front of Caren's flat building. She stared in shock. How did these people know where she lived?

"He's waiting for you inside," the woman said, not looking up from her phone. Caren gulped, "Who's waiting?"

Silence.

She slowly got out of the car and made her way into the building. No one else seemed to be there. She started to head for her room when she noticed two pictures that had been swapped, down the hall. She slowly inched towards the pictures. There was a small decorative stand at the end of the hall that always had a nice plant with five flowers in it. Now there were only four. She stood in front of the small wooden stand.

"So it's true. Photographic memory? Very impressive," a voice suddenly said behind her. She whipped around and came face to face with a man holding a cane. He had a cynical expression on his face, was decently tall, and leaned on his cane, although Caren doubted he needed it. His hair was brown, his eyes seeming to stare her down in a way that seemed almost familiar. He raised an eyebrow.

"Don't tell me you're trying to make a deduction about me," the man scoffed, smirking to himself at the thought of it.

"Who are you?" Caren asked cooly. He smirked again, "Well after you spent so much time deducing me why don't you tell _me._ " Caren pursed her lips, "You're..." She looked at him again. He raised his head high, as if he was of a higher power than she.

"You work in government?" she didn't mean for it to come out sounding like a question but it did. The man smiled with no warmth in it, "Good. Anything else?"

"Well, you don't need that cane that's for sure. But are you really a man who carries around a cane just for looks?" Caren replied.

The man frowned, "Anything else? Come now Caren, you must know."

"What do you want?" Caren asked. The man shook his head, "Changing subjects on me. Not very professional. Not sure why Sherlock Holmes let's you sneak around with him."

Caren gaped. How did he know about that. She had literally only met him a couple of days ago.

"Don't look so surprised. I am a man with resources. I know that you've been hanging around Sherlock Holmes. Surprisingly, he seems to have kept you around."

"Kept me around? He's only known me for two days." Caren scoffed.

"Yes and yet you went out to the circus and solved a case."

"Mazel tov," Caren said sarcastically, "So you've been keeping tabs on me for being around Sherlock? Are you his personal government guardian?"

The man shrugged, "Of sorts, although he may say otherwise. He calls me his arch enemy. So childish. But I do worry about him." Caren was confused. He was telling the truth. Why was this man so concerned with who was spending time with the 'consulting detective'. He was being rather protective for being... Oh.

"No. You're...you're his brother?" Caren was shocked as she said the words. The man smirked, "Mycroft Holmes. Took you a little longer than I expected but most people do. So sadly idiotic, normal human beings arent they?"

Caren stared at him. He straightened his shoulders, "I do have a purpose for being here. I'd like to offer you a deal. You watch out for Sherlock and I will reward you greatly."

"I thought watching out for him was your job?"

"I am a very busy man and don't have time to always being watching over my little brother mine. I promise the reward will be worth your time. You could use it judging by the looks of this building." He pulled a check out of his pocket, "A sample of what's in store."

Caren laughed humorlessly, "You're joking right? You want to pay me to babysit a grown man? Absolutely not." Caren started towards her room. This whole thing was absolutely ridiculous. Mycroft lifted up his cane to stop her, "You don't even want to look at the money?" She shook her head. Mycroft sighed, "Do think about it. Mr. Watson doesn't seem to be all that good at keeping him under control. Refused the money just like you. I sure hope you don't live to regret this."

With that he lowered his cane and spun on his heels, walking out of the building and getting in the car. It drove off silently. Caren shook her head. Could her day get any weirder than this?

She made her way to her room, and flicked on the light to the flat. It was a small thing, but it was her own. She didn't have to have a flatmate like so many people did. She shook off her coat and collapsed on the couch, ready to just fall asleep. She closed her eyes to rest for a moment.

Suddenly she was waking up to the sound of vibrations, coming from her phone in her coat pocket. Her phone had a few text messages on it from a number she didn't recognize. She opened it up.

 **You left your scarf here.**

 **-SH**

 **Also, do you know any Scandinavian numerals?**

 **-SH**

Caren raised an eyebrow. She assumed SH stood for Sherlock Holmes.

 _ **How did you get my number?**_

 _ **-Caren**_

She got a reply back almost immediately.

 **I have resources. Scandinavian numerals?**

 **-SH**

 ** _Same resources as your lovely brother Mycroft? Scandinavian numerals? No._**

 ** _-Caren_**

 **Mycroft is an idiot. Pity on the numerals.**

 **-SH**

 ** _Must run in the family. He seems worried about you._**

 ** _Got a new case already?_**

 _ **-Caren**_

 **Do you want your scarf back? John might give it to Sarah.**

 **-SH**

 _ **Changing the subject on me? And I'm coming to get it now.**_

 _ **That's my favorite one.**_

 _ **-Caren**_

 **Learn Finnish before you come. Perhaps you can be of use to the case.**

 **-SH**

Caren smirked.

 _ **I'll do my best.**_

* * *

Wow, I think this may be the longest chapter i've ever written for one of my stories. I know, sad. Thanks for reading peeps! Feel free to leave a review.


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